This is the ANTaR website and shows the success that happens when Aboriginals are empowered and resourced to look after their own affairs, which is why Howard's take over authoritarian approach will only breed resentment and fail.
Here is the full NT Government report with all 97 recommendations and worth a read:
This is a very comprehensive report, probably the most comprehensive to come out on the Aboriginal problem. Note the intimation in the report is that they only want Federal involvement as far as funding, instead they got Canberra's politics in an election year.
Now the crux of Howard's reaction was this is a national emergency and law and racial discrimination acts should not impede aiding children in dire need, so alcohol and porn will be banned and town leases taken over by the government.
Alcohol is covered in sections 61-69 and pornography in section 87 amongst other things. But here is the sting in Howard's over reaction, the pornography section is about educating parents on what the classifications mean and enforcing the existing law of not exposing pornography to a minor. This is a very different to the outright prohibition Howard has bought in and the scourge he has made pornography to be as an instigator in child sexual abuse.
The alcohol section focuses on making licenses harder to obtain for easier regulation, nothing about blanket prohibition as Howard has instigated. It also focuses on social and cultural enjoyment of alcohol rather than abuse. There is a section for community drinking clubs.
Somehow I don't think Howard's policy will achieve anything in the long run and I don't believe Howard believes it either. This is just to get him over the election and gives him an excuse for his 11 years of abysmal failure in indigenous affairs after he promised so much 10 years ago in his "Practical Reconciliation".
Btw the report quotes Fred Chaney prior to the recommendations:
Quoted from Fred Chaney
And one of the things I think we should have learned by now is that you can’t solve these things by centralised bureaucratic direction. You can only educate children in a school at the place here they live. You can only give people jobs or get people into employment person by person. And I think my own view now is that the lesson we’ve learned is that you need locally based action, local resourcing, local control to really make changes.
But I think governments persist in thinking you can direct from Canberra, you can direct from Perth or Sydney or Melbourne, that you can have programs that run out into communities that aren’t owned by those communities, that aren’t locally controlled and managed, and I think surely that is a thing we should know doesn’t work.
Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege.
Man rolls car in KFC drive-through Posted 1 hour 37 minutes ago
An Alice Springs man's love of fried chicken saw him roll his car at a takeaway drive-through last night.
Police were called to a Kentucky Fried Chicken takeaway at around 3:00am to help rescue a man who had rolled his car in the service lane behind the building.
They say the man may have been driving too quickly and are unsure if alcohol was a factor in the crash.
The man was taken to hospital but is not believed to be badly injured.
Paedophile flew from US to have sex with 14yo: police Posted 2 hours 2 minutes ago
Police say an alleged paedophile flew all the way from the US to Sydney to meet a 14-year-old girl he met over the internet - only to find that the 'girl' was really an Australian detective.
The 28-year-old US national will appear in a Sydney court later today charged with using the internet to groom a child for sex.
The man was arrested when he flew into Sydney Airport yesterday.
Police allege he took part in an online conversation with a detective who was posing as a 14-year-old girl.
Meet my new girlfriend Article from: GENEVIEVE MEEGAN, Sunday Mail columnist June 24, 2007 12:15am
THE relationship may still be in its early stages but that didn't stop Treasurer Kevin Foley publicly unveiling his new girlfriend yesterday.
Hand-in-hand Lisa Holmen, 24, was by her man's side at Port Hughes on Yorke Peninsula where he was hosting "the Shark" Greg Norman and his partner, former tennis great Chris Evert.
The official party was surveying Norman's new squillion-dollar golfing development in the area.
Lisa is the events and marketing officer at the Property Council of Australia.
She has a double degree in international studies and marketing, and met her new pollie boyfriend at an inner-city pub about four weeks ago.
It's known the couple have been out to dinner and to the movies a few times since their first meeting.
It was always going to be a baptism of fire when Foley, who turns 47 in September, appeared with a new girlfriend in the public domain, but add a mega-famous celebrity golfer into the mix, plus his equally famous girlfriend and that's a story.
Lisa was said to be relaxed and calm in the media spotlight yesterday, showing her support for Foley.
Foley admitted having a private life while being such a public figure could be a challenge.
"It's difficult starting a new relationship, let alone in the media glare," he said yesterday. "We're just getting to know each other and we'll see what happens."
How Lisa continues to handle the media frenzy that is Kevin Foley's lovelife remains to be seen
Pole dance ad 'fits family values' June 24, 2007 12:15am
A POLE-DANCING stripper wearing nothing but a diamante G-string is compatible with family values, the nation's advertising watchdog has ruled.
The decision by the Advertising Standards Bureau to dismiss 200 public complaints about the Nando's restaurant chain's TV and cinema advertisements has left critics shocked and confused. The ruling is in stark contrast to the same bureau's decision to ban a BankSA advertisement – featuring a man in a bunny suit who was tripped up by a shopkeeper – because one person complained it showed cruelty towards animals.
The Nando's commercial features a mother working as a topless pole dancer thrusting her G-string clad backside at a male customer's face to receive a tip. She is wearing a "Nando's-fix patch" – to deal with her craving for Nando's meals.
The women is then shown with her husband and children enjoying dinner at a Nando's restaurant.
The ad is classified M and can be shown after 8.30pm and on weekdays between midday and 3pm.
The Advertising Standards Bureau said the ad did not breach the Advertising Code of Ethics.
It deemed "pole dancing was not incompatible with family values . . . (and) this depiction of pole dancing was . . . not overtly sexual."
However, the bureau also found the woman "enjoyed being sexy" while pole dancing.
Family First state MP Dennis Hood said the ruling was "out of touch with mainstream standards".
"To suggest a virtually naked woman pole-dancing is not overtly sexual is rubbish," he said.
"Given the number of complaints received about this ad and the BankSA ad, the bureau has demonstrated it is inconsistent."
But the decision to ban commercials was not based on the number of complaints, according to bureau chief executive Fiona Jolly.
"We only have to receive one complaint before an advertisement is reviewed," she said. "And opinion among the bureau's board members was divided – some thought the pole dancer wiggling her bottom in the man's face was too much of a reference to a sexual position."
However, that was not the majority decision of the board which rejected all complaints.
Public complaints included:
THE nudity is inappropriate.
THE representation of a woman in this environment is offensive and seeks only to objectify women further as sex symbols.
THE stripper/lap dancer/porn star is increasingly portrayed in ads as a mainstream role for women.
HAVING to explain to my child about what that woman is doing.
Adelaide actor Patrick Frost, who played the shopkeeper in the banned BankSA ad, couldn't understand the decision.
"I think people are going to be really confused about how these decisions are made – I reckon the fact there were 200 complaints about the Nando's ad means the general community found it much more offensive than the BankSA commercial," he said.
Lobby group Young Media Australia president Joan Roberts said: "When I first saw the ad I thought it was a bit out there and based on the number of complaints . . . the bureau's decision not to ban it seems crazy – 200 complaints seems more reflective of community standards than one."
I mentioned the Nando's ad in the commercials you love/hate thread. http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/eblah/m-1128251531/s-525/ on page 36 post number 538. I was stunned and disgusted by it. This woman's G-stringed bum assaulting my eyes on my TV in a family advertisement was not my cup of tea. I think it should be banned.
When I first read about this yesterday I thought to myself "I wonder if steroid abuse had something to do with it". Anabolic steroids can change a person so that they become Dr. Jeckyl and Mr.Hyde. His friends said it was most unusual if he did kill his wife and child then himself because he was not an angry aggressive person. Just looking at him I would beg to differ. Today's update...
Bizarre deaths rock wrestling world Debbie Newby in Fayetteville, Georgia June 27, 2007 - 7:51AM
Professional wrestler Chris Benoit strangled his wife, suffocated his seven-year-old son and placed a Bible next to their bodies before hanging himself by the pulley of a weightlifting machine, authorities said on Tuesday.
Investigators also found prescription anabolic steroids in the house, Lieutenant Tommy Pope of the Fayette County Sheriff's Department said.
He would not comment on Benoit's state of mind or possible motive.
Autopsies showed all three died of asphyxiation, Pope said.
Benoit's wife, Nancy, was killed on Friday in an upstairs family room, her feet and wrists were bound and there was blood under her head, indicating a possible struggle, Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard said.
The son, Daniel, was likely killed late Saturday or early Sunday, the body found in his bed, Ballard said.
Benoit, 40, apparently killed himself several hours and as long as a day later, Ballard said.
His body was found in a downstairs weight room, his body found hanging from the pulley of a piece of exercise equipment.
The prosecutor said he found it "bizarre'' that the WWE wrestling star spread out the killings over a long weekend and appeared to remain in the house for up to a day with the bodies.
"I'm baffled about why anybody would kill a seven-year-old,'' Ballard said.
"I don't think we'll ever be able wrap our head around that.''
Earlier, a law enforcement official speaking on a condition of anonymity said Benoit strangled his wife and smothered his son.
The house is in a secluded neighbourhood set back about 55 metres off a gravel road, surrounded by stone wall with a double-iron gate.
Benoit was a former world heavyweight and Intercontinental champion. He also held several tag-team titles.
Benoit was scheduled to perform at a Vengeance pay-per-view event on Sunday night in Houston, but was replaced at the last minute because of what announcer Jim Ross called "personal reasons".
A native of Canada, he maintained a home in Atlanta from the time he wrestled for the defunct World Championship Wrestling.
World Wrestling Entertainment, the WWE, cancelled its live Monday Night RAW card in Corpus Christi, Texas, and USA Network aired a three-hour tribute in place of a scheduled wrestling telecast.
"My relationship with Chris has extended many years and I consider him a great friend," Carl DeMarco, the president of WWE Canada, said. "Chris was always first-class - warm, friendly, caring and professional one of the best in our business."
Benoit's wife, Nancy, managed several wrestlers and went by the stage name "Woman".
They met when her then-husband drew up a script that had them involved in a relationship as part of an ongoing storyline on World Championship Wrestling.
Soon after, the two became romantically involved in real life and married, said Bryan Alvarez, who runs Figurefour Weekly, a newsletter and website.
"Obviously, all sorts of speculation is running rampant, but I have talked to so many people and nobody really knows whether the couple was having marital troubles," Mr Alvarez said.
Benoit had two other children from a previous relationship.
^ ^ Of coarse the wrestling world was stuned, they thought everything was staged
I rather believe that time is a companion who goes with us on the journey and reminds us to cherish every moment, because it will never come again. - Captain Jean-Luc Picard
Most Australians are Christian: census ninemsn, Wednesday Jun 27
Christianity remains the religion of choice in Australia, but Hinduism and Buddhism are growing at a greater rate.
Almost 12.7 million Australians declared they were Christian in the 2006 census, up from 12.6 million in 1996.
But as a proportion of the population, Christianity fell from 71 per cent to 64 per cent.
In the same period, the number of people affiliated with non-Christian faiths almost doubled from 600,000 in 1996 to 1.1 million and now account for 5.6 per cent of the population.
induism had the greatest growth, increasing 120 per cent to 148,000 people, while Buddhism grew 109 per cent to 418,800 people.
The make-up of Christianity is also changing.
Census figures show Australians are abandoning traditional Christian denominations and turning instead to evangelical churches.
The number of Australians affiliated with the Anglican, Uniting, Presbyterian and Reformed churches fell between 1996 and 2006.
In contrast, affiliation with the Pentecostal church grew 26 per cent, making it the fastest growing Christian denomination.
In NSW alone, Pentecostal churches grew 48 per cent.
Catholic churches bucked the trend among traditional denominations, growing seven per cent over the 10-year period.
And Adelaide may be the city of churches, but fewer people are attending.
One quarter of South Australians said they were not affiliated with any religion, the largest proportion of any Australian state.
Almost half of all Hindus and Muslims live in Sydney, while almost half of all Jews live in Melbourne.
Sydney and Melbourne had similar numbers of Buddhists.
Just to add to the hard to miss story about the pro wrestler killing his wife and child then himself.
Benoit and wife 'argued over son' June 28, 2007 - 10:13AM
In the days before pro wrestler Chris Benoit killed his wife and child and hanged himself, the couple argued over whether he should stay home more to take care of their mentally retarded 7-year-old son, an attorney for the wrestling league said on Wednesday.
"I think it's fair to say that the subject of caring for that child was part of what made their relationship complicated and difficult, and it's something they were both constantly struggling with," said Jerry McDevitt, an attorney for World Wrestling Entertainment.
"We do know it was a source of stress and consternation."
An autopsy conducted on Benoit's child revealed he may have been killed with a "choke hold."
McDevitt said the wrestling organisation learned from the couple's friends and relatives that the Benoits were struggling with where to send the boy to school since he had recently finished kindergarten.
He also said Benoit's wife didn't want him to quit wrestling, but she "wanted him to be at home more to care for the kid. She'd say she can't take care of him by herself when he was on the road".
The child suffered from a rare medical condition called Fragile X Syndrome, an inherited form of mental retardation often accompanied by autism, McDevitt said.
Over the past weekend, authorities said, Benoit strangled his wife, suffocated his son and placed a Bible next to their bodies before hanging himself with a weight-machine cable in the couple's suburban home. No motive was offered for the killings, which were discovered Monday.
Anabolic steroids were found in Benoit's home, leading officials to wonder whether the drugs played a role in the slayings. Some experts believe steroids cause paranoia, depression and violent outbursts known as "roid rage".
The WWE issued a news release on Tuesday saying steroids "were not and could not be related to the cause of death" and that the findings indicate "deliberation, not rage".
It also added that Benoit tested negative April 10, the last time he was tested for drugs.
Also on Wednesday, Benoit's personal physician said the wrestler did not give any indication he was troubled when he met with the doctor hours before the start of the weekend.
Benoit had been under the care of Dr Phil Astin, a longtime friend, for treatment of low testosterone levels. Astin said the condition likely originated from previous steroid use.
If the child's illness was the trigger for his killing his wife and son then he was a very weak man. Many people have children who have disabilities, some more severe than others. If this child was able to attend kindergarten then he was not severely mentally disabled. With the money this wrestler was raking in he surely could of hired some nursing care help when he was not able to be there and not be so selfish as to not spend more time with his son when he was at 'home'.
"Fragile X can be passed on in a family by individuals who have no apparent signs of this genetic condition. In some families a number of family members appear to be affected, whereas in other families a newly diagnosed individual may be the first family member to exhibit symptoms. " http://www.fragilex.org/html/what.htm
More information...
Fragile X Syndrome Written by Stephen M. Edelson, Ph.D. Center for the Study of Autism, Salem, Oregon
Fragile X syndrome, called Martin-Bell syndrome, is a genetic disorder and is the most common form of inherited mental retardation. It is a sex-linked genetic abnormality in which a mother is a carrier, transmitting the disorder to her sons. It affects approximately 1 in every 1,000 to 2,000 male individuals, and the female carrier frequency may be substantially higher. Males afflicted with this syndrome typically have a moderate to severe form of intellectual handicap. Females may also be affected but generally have a mild form of impairment.
Approximately 15% to 20% of those with Fragile X Syndrome exhibit autistic-type behaviors, such as poor eye contact, hand-flapping or odd gesture movements, hand-biting, and poor sensory skills. Behavior problems and speech/language delay are common features of Fragile X Syndrome.
People with Fragile X syndrome also have a number of recognizable physical features, including a high arched palate, strabismus (lazy eye), large ears, long face, large testicles in males, poor muscle tone, flat feet, and sometimes mild, heart valve abnormalities. Although most individuals with Fragile X syndrome have a characteristic 'look' (long face and large ears), there are some who do not have typical features.
Many hospitals and laboratories perform blood tests to diagnose Fragile X syndrome. Several treatments are recommended for individuals with this disorder, including mild medications for behavior problems and therapies for speech and language and sensory improvement. Also, families are advised to seek genetic counseling to understand the inheritable nature of Fragile X Syndrome and to discuss with family members the likelihood other individuals or future offspring may have this disorder.
What this wrestler did was a wholly selfish and heinous act!
Magpie star regrets night out with accused CBD killer By John Silvester and Dan Silkstone June 29, 2007
COLLINGWOOD footballer Alan Didak has admitted to police he was with accused CBD killer Christopher Wayne Hudson during a shooting rampage just days before the Hells Angel is alleged to have shot three people - killing one.
Didak, who was interviewed as a witness by members of the armed crime taskforce last night, confirmed he was with Hudson on June 12, when police believed shots were fired from the window of the bikie's black Mercedes. But Magpies chief executive Gary Pert suggested last night that Didak had been held against his will during the "ordeal".
The incident happened just hours after Didak played in the losing Queen's Birthday game against Melbourne and hours before he joined teammates on a morning flight to a mid-season camp in Queensland.
Didak faced a news conference last night after crisis talks at the club. Ashen-faced, sweating profusely and wearing a pinstripe suit and Collingwood tie he read from a brief statement.
"The club and I felt it important to face the media tonight," he said. "I am only now fully aware of the situation I found myself in. I deeply regret the embarrassment caused to myself, my family and the football club."
Six days after the shooting spree, Hudson is alleged to have opened fire in the city, killing solicitor Brendan Keilar and injuring stripper Kara Douglas and Dutch backpacker Paul de Waard. Hudson surrendered two days after the CBD shooting and has been charged. He was treated for a self-inflicted wrist wound and has been shunned by the Hells Angels.
Police have confirmed that Didak was in the King Street strip club, Spearmint Rhino, after the Queen's Birthday game and left with Hudson about 3am.
Police believe Hudson and Didak drove from the nightclub and the bikie then allegedly fired random shots. They have been told the two men then travelled to the Hells Angels' East County Chapter headquarters in Campbellfield. The two later left the headquarters and Hudson drove the car about one kilometre to the Scania truck company's Australian headquarters in Northbourne Road where further shots were fired.
Police were called and Hudson is alleged to have fired several warning shots from the window of the car before driving off. They believe Didak was dropped by the gunman near Southbank after the two shooting incidents about 6am. Later that day he flew to Queensland with teammates for a mid-season break. No Collingwood player or official apparently noticed any sign of stress or anxiety in their highly rated forward.
Didak has told police he left the nightclub with Hudson, recalls hearing shots fired but blacked out and cannot recall the Campbellfield incident. It is believed that Didak had not met the alleged gunman until the morning of the incident.
Actually this is yesterdays news but since reading it yesterday parts of this story have had me deep in thought.
Packer wanted to 'bone' son June 29, 2007 12:00am
KERRY Packer's dying wish was for his son and heir James to be moved from Channel 9 for fear he would destroy the business, it has been claimed. "We need to keep James and (PBL executive John) Alexander out of the place. They're going to [expletive deletedby SuziH] the joint," Mr Packer is alleged to have said.
This is one of the explosive allegations by one of a host of disgruntled Nine executives who have lined up to tell all in a new book, Who Killed Channel 9?, which hit bookshelves yesterday.
The author, former Nine news director Gerald Stone, describes Kerry Packer's addiction to winning the TV ratings.
This came at any cost, including at the expense of his own son.
"`I don't give a [expletive deletedby SuziH] how much we make," he is quoted as saying.
"I'm old and I'm dying. I don't want to lose."
Detailing the vicious infighting at the very top of the Nine and PBL ranks, and describing the downfall of the empire, the book also alleges:
AN underhanded executive board created a minefield for the network's top talents, including former head of drama Posie Graeme-Evans, who was recruited only to find one of her juniors was being groomed for the post by Mr Alexander.
CEO David Gyngell's resignation was due not only to head office interference but because, during a meeting with James Packer and Mr Alexander, he was effectively asked to choose between his mate James and his boss Kerry.
PRODUCTION talents Julian Cress and David Barbour were robbed of millions of dollars for their creative material after being promised a share from international sales and their ratings success.
MR CRESS'S explosive diary notes talk of Eddie McGuire's locker-room approach to management, including at a meeting in which he crudely bent over, "feet splayed apart and his hands pressed firmly on the desk. `From what I've heard about you guys, I guess I'm going to have to assume the position'," an extract records.
A SUNDAY interview that won a Walkley award for John Lyons was "a sensational claim without the evidence to support it" and "one of the worst examples of unfair reporting" the author had seen.
FORMER Nine news chief Peter Meakin called Mr Alexander a "24-carat [expletive deletedby SuziH] " for secretly hiring Jana Wendt without consulting him. Mr Alexander promised not to go behind Mr Meakin's back again, but secretly went on to try to poach Seven's David Koch.
Despite an unprecedented 100,000 copy print run, the book was released without fanfare in a huge overnight operation to plant it in stores yesterday without warning.
The publishing house had been legally advised to have a soft launch, Pan Macmillan publisher Tom Gilliatt said.
"For legal reasons we've released the book without the normal pre-publicity," he said.
James Packer is still out of the country on his honeymoon after marrying model Erica Baxter in the French Riviera last week.
He was unavailable for comment.
A Nine spokesperson refused to comment on the book's release.
Hells bells Friday, June 29, 2007 The spin cycle goes into overdrive as another footy player is caught out of bounds. By Adam Shand. For the rule changes and the millions spent on public relations to get kiddies playing AFL, success in footy is still based on a superior brand of thuggery. Why then does it continue to "disappoint" or "surprise" the game's hierarchy when its stars are shown to consort with thugs in the real world.
The news that Collingwood forward Alan Didak spent a drunken evening in the company of accused CBD killer Christopher Wayne Hudson - a fallen Hells Angel - should surprise no-one. Six days before he allegedly shot three people on Collins St, killing one, Hudson was simply a drunken fool. Didak found a kindred spirit and they hooked up.
Hudson's attractiveness was enhanced by the fact that he was on first name terms with some of the strippers at Spearmint Rhino. Footballers and bikies share similar attitudes to women so the conversation must have been enlightened and intellectual.
Then Didak accompanied Hudson to the Hells Angels headquarters in Campbellfield for further discourse. Then he went home in a taxi, no doubt with new machismo to brag about with his team-mates at training.
But then Collingwood spinmeisters got onto the story. They have turned the poor innocent Didak into a virtual hostage, taken against his will into the evil heart of the Big Red machine, as the Hells Angels call their organisation.
The story then went that Didak became concerned to protect the image of the game and became desperate to escape Hudson's clutches. So concerned was Didak with these matters, he failed to tell the club about his new friend Hudson until the media threatened to expose their special friendship.
Now he is all sombre and suited, gravely telling the media: "The club and I felt it important to face the media tonight."
"I am only now fully aware of the situation I found myself in.
"I deeply regret the embarrassment caused to myself, my family and the football club."
As part of club kit, the AFL should hand this statement to all players, with an "insert name" and "offence" space, so numerous have these incidents become.
The embarrassment for all concerned is getting caught here, pure and simple. And what of the other man, rumoured to be another Collingwood footballer, who was allegedly with Didak and Hudson that night. Will he too deeply regret his actions, the embarrassment etc, when he is exposed. Is Didak protecting this player's identity?
AFL's closet is full of skeletons.
What about the club who paid a senior mobster a sum approaching $30,000 a few years back so a star player with a chronic gambling habit could play in the big game that week? The player was being held hostage by the mobsters in a motel until the debt was paid by the club. It turned out the player was in on the scam as the club had refused to advance him any more money. Let's see the spinmeisters deal with that when names and dates are finally revealed.
Teen stabs eight-year-old brother July 5, 2007 - 6:39AM
A Canadian teen accused of murdering her family told a hushed courtroom she stabbed her eight-year-old brother, but her much older boyfriend slit the child's throat.
The girl, who cannot be identified under Canadian law, told a jury in little more than a whisper that her boyfriend, Jeremy Steinke, had killed her parents and then ordered her to stab the little boy, the daily Globe and Mail reported today.
"He yells at me, 'Stab him, just stab him! Slit his throat'!" she testified.
"I said, 'I can't, I can't,' and he said, 'You have to. I did this for you'."
The jury in Medicine Hat, Alberta, heard over and over that the girl, now 13, had regularly talked about killing her parents, but did not mean it.
Prosecutors said she was angry that her parents had grounded her in an attempt to cool her relationship with 23-year-old Steinke.
According to the Globe and Mail, the girl testified her brother pleaded with her for his life, saying: "I'm scared. I'm too young to die."
She said she stabbed him once with a kitchen knife "somewhere on his upper body", but could not do anything more, the paper said.
The girl claimed that angered Steinke, who was covered in her parents' blood and panting on that fateful night in April 2006, so he grabbed the boy and slit his throat.
Unable to watch, she heard her brother trying to breathe, she said, weeping on the stand. "He was gurgling."
The girl also admitted to having sex with Steinke in his trailer after sneaking out of the house one week before the slayings, and again in a friend's apartment while her family lay dead, hours before their bodies were discovered by her brother's playmate peering through a basement window.
"I loved him so much. I thought it would bring us closer together," she explained.
Steinke faces three charges of first-degree murder in the killings, but has not yet entered a plea and no trial date has been set.
What the hell is this world coming to? If I had been her parent I would of grounded her also. The guy is a paedophile, pure and simple. A restraining order would of been a good idea too. I do think she has to be punished for her role in the killings though.
Boy 'tortured for six hours by bullies' Thursday Jul 5 05:00 AEST By ninemsn staff
A 13-year-old Perth boy was brutally tortured for six hours by a pack of bullies who shoved him into a grave and began to bury him, a court has been told.
Five boys, ranging in age from 12 to 14, are accused of dragging the boy from school to a bush camp and attacking him in several cruel and bizarre ways.
Police allege the boy was first forced into a toilet at the government high school in the Perth hills Wednesday morning, where the others told him to follow their orders or be bashed.
He was then made to run into the bushland behind the school where he was forced into a makeshift hut, The Australian reports.
The boy was first given a "wedgie" and hung from a tree by the back of his underpants, Prosecutor John Dart told Perth Children's Court.
Over the next six hours the boy was allegedly beaten and prodded with a plank of wood riddled with nails.
The court heard that sandwiches were smeared across the victim's face, while one of the boys opened the victim's lunchbox and urinated in it.
The group then allegedly threatened him with an axe and made him crawl on his hands and knees and act like dog.
The abuse culminated with the boy allegedly being pushed into a makeshift grave dug by the boys, who began shovelling dirt on top of him.
He was told that he would be forced to sleep in the hut before they returned at 3am the next day to kill him, the court heard.
The five boys are each charged with deprivation of liberty, threatening to kill, and assault occasioning bodily harm.
Police said the boy was constantly crying throughout the attack, and was so scared he wet his pants twice.
The boy suffered bruises and lacerations to his legs, back and buttocks in the ordeal.
He eventually got away and ran home, where he told his mother who alerted the school and police.
All five of the alleged attackers have been suspended temporarily while the school decides on a punishment.
The alleged attackers and the victim are all Year 8 students.
Suspended temporarily? While the school decides what to do with them? Put them in juvenile detention where hopefully they will be bullied mercilessly. Expell them from that school to begin with and make them attend different schools to each other, break up their little gang. Utterly unbelievable
Al Gore's son arrested on drug charges Thursday Jul 5 05:00 AEST By ninemsn staff
For the second time in four years, Al Gore's son has been arrested on charges of possessing marijuana in his car.
Al Gore III was arrested early Wednesday morning after police pulled him over for speeding and allegedly found less than ounce of marijuana and several prescription drugs in his car.
The climate campaigner's 24-year-old son, Al Gore III, was stopped by a sherriff's deputy on the San Diego freeway at about 2.15am.
The deputy searched the car, allegedly finding a quantity of the suspected marijuana and also prescription drugs including Valium, Xanax, Vicodin and Adderall.
"He did not have prescriptions for any of these medications," sheriff's department spokesman Jim Amormino told AFP.
The arrest comes at an inconvenient time for Gore, who is expected in New Jersey this weekend to host the worldwide Live Earth concerts he helped organise.
But the climate campaigner does have one reason to be proud of his boy — Al Gore III was driving an eco-friendly hybrid Toyota Prius at the time of his arrest.
Gore was arrested and is being held on US$20,000 bail.
"He is still in custody," Amormino said.
Gore lives in Los Angeles and told authorities he was headed south to San Diego, Amormino said.
The younger Gore has a history of drug and driving violations.
In 2003, the younger Gore was charged with marijuana possession in Maryland after police stopped the car he was driving for not having its headlights on. In February 2004 he entered a substance abuse program as part of a plea agreement.
Gore was charged with reckless driving in North Carolina in 2000 for allegedly driving 94 mph, and in September 2002, military police arrested him on suspicion of drunk driving near a military base in Virginia.
Gore graduated from Harvard in 2005.
His father has spoken widely about how, in April 1989, the younger Gore nearly died in a car accident in Maryland.
A 13-year-old Perth boy was brutally tortured for six hours by a pack of bullies who shoved him into a grave and began to bury him, a court has been told.
This article made me sick and then very very angry
Need a valium to calm down.
The parents of these kids should be charged and thrown in jail!! You can't tell me they didn't know their son was capable of this kind of thing?
If my son ever did anything like this .. I think I'll stop there before I say something I shouldn't.
Unfortunately juvi or bullying them will probably only make them worse. They're already on the path to becoming violent sociopaths when they're older so they need a lot of pyschological counselling to straighten them out. And if that doesn't work lock em up for good.
Logged
